Similar to other books from Chicago Review Press, this one takes students on a tour of Isaac Newton's life, pairing the story with activities that explore his ideas and the times he lived in. The book begins with a timeline depicting the major accomplishments in Newton's life, and is followed by ten chapters, covering from his precarious first days to his death in 1727. Along with the text, occasional activities are included, like making ink similar to how Newton would have. In the chapter on Newton's work with light, readers can make a prism, observe Newton's Rings in a piece of glass, and understand the inverse square law by moving away from a light source and detecting the amount of light available. Although written from a secular perspective, the book shares Isaac Newton's intense interest in God and his struggle with the concept of the Trinity. A fascinating combination of biography and historical scientific activities. 132 pgs, pb. – Jess

These are inspiring, true stories of swashbuckling heroes and gentle scholars who risked everything to change our view of the world through science. Stories include: Archimedes and the Golden Crown, Ptolemy vs. Copernicus, Tycho Brahe Scans the Skies, Kepler and Galileo, The Trial of Galileo and Isaac Newton.

Genevieve Foster is well known for her distinctive approach to teaching history. Firmly believing that history is drama, Miss Foster presents an engaging narrative of William Penn's life as well as those of his contemporaries throughout the world. Part one begins in 1660 and introduces us to William Penn, how he became a Quaker, his quest for religious freedom and how he received Pennsylvania. We then learn of his contemporaries including: the journeys of three French explorers: Marquette, Joliet and LaSalle; Louis XIV, the King of France, who ruled for seventy two years; mogul emperors of India and the Taj Mahal; the great age of Science (Sir Isaac Newton and Edward Halley); K'ang-Hse the great Manchu ruler of China and Peter the Great of Russia. We also revisit William Penn and learn of the many disasters that he experienced and how he came to return to England for his final days. Black and white illustrations, SC, 192 pgs. ~ Deanne

In this read-aloud approach to science, middle-grade students will discover basic biology, chemistry and physics concepts in an interactive and exciting way as they learn about the lives of famous scientists throughout history. Students will read biographies of famous scientists including Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, Einstein (and more). They will also perform experiments, build a science portfolio, complete mapping exercises and learn new science vocabulary. The combination of biographical information and scientific discovery will really bring scientific concepts to life! Each lesson in the guide is in outline format, with specific reading assignments; a supply list for hands-on activities; recommended websites and more. Recently updated and now in full-color, this Beautiful Feet guide still utilizes many of the excellent resource books from the previous edition, with some new additions. Experiments are now taken from DK's Way Science Works, and supplies needed are listed in the lesson outline. Most supplies are household items, although a few specific items are required (suggested sources are provided in the front of the guide). A microscope is not required for the course, but there are microscope activities to complete if you do have access to one. This literature-based study will take one year to complete at a pacing of three lessons per week. Resource books and several of the suggested specialty supplies are listed below. Great for tactile learners and literature lovers.

It sure is! It's about time someone made an inexpensive, spiral-bound timeline affordable enough to use for specific studies or for one-year use. Even the most frugal homeschool mom can justify the cost of this history aid for each student. Timelines are a wonderful tool for putting events and people into context as they are studied during the year - if you can get your children into the "timeline habit". Reading about Isaac Newton and the "discovery" of gravity in science? Chart it! Using the Phythagorean theorem in math? Put in on! Reading Beowulf in literature? Add it, too! You get the idea. By the end of the year, they should have a great visual overview of the year to reflect back on. Another great feature of this timeline is its flexibility. You customize the pages to fit your needs. Each divided column can be a year, decade, century, or whatever you decide. Focus in or get the big picture - it adapts to your needs. The shaded row along the center can be used to record the time periods for that page. The shaded row at the top can contain a page title, or period designation. Divided lines that separate the ruled columns can also be used to categorize entries by topic or subject area. Blank form pages and a sample page gives ideas on customizing timeline.

Throughout history, great philosophers have influenced everything from science to politics to religion. Their ideas have shaped the way we look at the world in general. This book tells about the 100 most influential philosophers of Western culture, showing how their ideas have impacted the world. The philosophers are basically presented chronologically, starting with Thales of Miletus around 620 BC and ending with W.V.O Quine, who died in 2000. Both popular and lesser-known (but still very influential) philosophers are included like Socrates, William of Occam, Sir Isaac Newton, Voltaire, George Berkeley, Thomas Paine, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and many more. For each philosopher, the book presents a full-page black and white illustration or photograph of the person and then a double-column text page full of information about them. It's only a page-worth of information, so you're not getting a comprehensive biography about each figure, but the book is great at summarizing the main achievements, ideas, and contributions of each person, while it explains the lasting effect left and how modern philosophers view that figure. 218 pgs, pb. ~ Rachel

If you like the idea of a dvd to teach your high school physics course, Wes Olson has the solution – Physics 101. Like the other courses in the 101 Series, Wes Olson offers an engaging visual course rather than having the student read a text. Learn about the physics of our world, historical figures and their contributions and do hands-on labs to help you understand the concepts.

Physics 101 covers concepts in these areas: light and color, mirrors and lenses, invisibility and speed of light, sound, acoustics, fire, thermodynamics, heat and cold, electricity, outlets and circuits, batteries and electromagnetic spectrum, Isaac Newton, Universal Law of Gravity, 1st Law of Motion, 2nd and 3rd Laws of Motion, Albert Einstein, relativity, quantum mechanics and the future of physics. There are 20 segments and a video for each that range in length from 20 to 43 minutes - a total of 11 hours and 10 minutes of video. Options are offered for subtitles and closed captions – a variety of languages are offered.

There are PDFs that you may want to print and are included on the fourth disc (there are four discs in this course). The first pdf is titled, “Course Accreditation Program” and the second is the “Guidebook.” Instructions for opening the pdfs are printed on the face of Disc 1. Print out the files, hole punch them and put them in a notebook for your convenience.

The Course Accreditation Program (CAP) is important information on how to use the course and get high school credit – a syllabus. Physics 101 provides about 135 hours of content, which is enough for one credit in physics. Basically, a lesson includes 4 steps: watch the video lesson, discuss the questions (found in the guidebook), do the mini-labs, research, write a 200-word report and take the segment quiz. The CAP includes all of the information for doing mini-labs – lists, instructions and where to fit them in. Mini-labs use common household items and a master list is found on page 4 of the CAP. You may run across a few unusual items, such as a canned air horn, microphone with jack to plug into your cell phone, magnesium fire starter, volt meter, etc. Items that are less common are marked, and you can skip labs if the items can’t be found; you will find that some sections have no labs and others have multiple. Instructions are included for assembling a student notebook that will be used all year; here students will record, take notes.

The Guidebook is 106 pages and includes the table of contents (showing the segment and chapter divisions), an outline for each segment, discussion questions, quizzes, quiz answers and an alphabetic index.

Physics 101 is a great high school level physics for your visual student or an interesting and informational watch for your family. Presented from a Christian worldview, students will learn about the relationship between science and the Bible in the area of physics. ~ Donna